U.S. 9-Year-Olds Regain Reading, Math Losses in 2025 NAEP as 13-Year-Olds Lag
Updated
Updated · The Boston Globe · Jun 10
U.S. 9-Year-Olds Regain Reading, Math Losses in 2025 NAEP as 13-Year-Olds Lag
3 articles · Updated · The Boston Globe · Jun 10
Summary
About 15,000 9-year-olds tested in early 2025 posted significant gains in math and reading from 2022, with reading no longer statistically below 2020 levels.
The rebound was strongest among lower-performing children: students at the 10th percentile improved, and gains also appeared for low-income students in both subjects and Black students in math.
Roughly 16,000 13-year-olds tested in late 2024 showed little recovery, remaining far below 2012 peaks; their reading slide from 2012 to 2022 erased gains dating to the 1970s, while math is at a 30-year low.
Those results diverge from other recent exams that still show a broad reading slump, including the 2024 Nation's Report Card, which found fourth-grade reading falling again and fourth-grade math barely improving.
The long-term trend NAEP cannot explain the shifts, but officials said the split between younger and older students underscores urgency in middle school as researchers debate causes from weaker accountability to screen time.
As AI transforms jobs, are America's declining math skills creating a generation that will be unemployable?
Why do students in Asia excel at math while American scores fall, and is a 'growth mindset' the secret?
If post-pandemic funds failed to fix the learning recession, what fundamental changes to schooling are actually required?
US Student Achievement in Crisis: 2025/2026 NAEP Data Reveal Persistent Declines, Widening Gaps, and Urgent Need for Reform
Overview
Recent data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) shows early signs of recovery from COVID-era learning loss, especially among 9-year-old students who improved by 4 points since 2022. This progress is notable because it was mainly driven by struggling students, marking their first major improvement in years. However, these gains are set against a longer-term decline in student achievement that began before the pandemic, with NAEP math and reading scores peaking around 2012-2013 and then falling. This highlights both the challenges and the hope for recovery in US education.